


Fade to Black

by Sara_Lillian



Series: We Were in Screaming Color [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Post-The Blood of Olympus, Sequel, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-02-20
Packaged: 2018-05-22 00:22:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6063724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sara_Lillian/pseuds/Sara_Lillian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone knows that when you have physical contact with your soulmate, the world explodes with color.<br/>When they are seriously injured, the colors become dull and lifeless. <br/>When they die...everything fades to black.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fade to Black

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel to "Life in Color". This is set about a year or two after the war with Gaia.

The day started off normal. Will put another mental tally on the wall to keep track of how long Nico had been away. He had been sent on a mission with Percy and Jason to bring back two demigods to the camp. They had already been gone two days longer than expected and Will was getting worried.

He expressed his thoughts to Hazel over breakfast, but she didn’t seem too concerned.

“Will, if Nico was in trouble, he would have contacted us. Even if he didn’t, I know Jason or Percy would have.”

Will was still skeptical, something about this whole situation just didn’t sit right with him. Hazel waved her hand in front of his face.

“I know it’s hard not to stress about it, but there’s nothing we can do other than wait. My brother is smart, he’ll be fine.” She shrugged and gave him a small smile which he returned hesitantly.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Thanks Hazel.”

With that he made his way to the infirmary, trying his hardest to ignore the growing ball of nerves sitting in his stomach. At noon things were pretty slow in the infirmary and Will was currently working on a young camper who had taken a nasty fall off of the rock wall. He had just finished patching up her leg and looked up to tell her she was all set when he felt like he was hit by a ton of bricks.

 _Something is wrong_. He blinked rapidly and rubbed his eyes, but nothing changed. He could feel the blood drain from his face and he gripped the edge of his supply table to steady himself. _No no no this can’t be happening_.

The camper was worried now, he could hear her asking _what’s wrong, are you okay?_ He couldn’t answer her, couldn’t wrap his mind around what had just happened; because he had blinked and the colors faded. It was as if his eyes were playing a cruel trick on him and diluted the saturation of everything he was seeing.

Will pulled himself up and nearly ran past the other patients being treated, ignoring the calls of his siblings. He pushed his way outside, his mind still reeling. _No no no_. He stumbled forward to the porch railing and forced himself to look at the camp.

Everything down to the blades of grass looked dull and watered down. His stomach lurched and he vomited over the railing. He didn’t have the strength to lift his head back up so he stayed like that for a minute, bent over, keeping his eyes closed as he caught his breath, refusing to look at this new version of reality.

Someone came up behind him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Will?” It was Lou Ellen.

Will grunted in response, not trusting his voice; his throat was beginning to feel tight and tears were burning behind his eyelids.

“Are you alright?”

He shook his head.

“Is there anything you need?”

He took several deep breaths, trying to lessen the growing lump in his throat. It still felt tight but he managed to get out, “Hazel.”

The hand left his shoulder and he heard Lou Ellen’s feet run down the Big House steps to find Hazel.

Will slowly stood up again and then slid down into a sitting position with his back against the rail.

Now that he was alone with his thoughts, it was all he could do not to let his panic consume him. He forced himself to stay calm.

 _Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out_.

A deep ache settled into Will’s chest and it took all of his strength not to give into it and cry. He couldn’t stop thinking about Nico being hurt somewhere with Will being unable to help. The thought of losing his soulmate nearly made him vomit again. He could only pray that Jason and Percy were able to get them all back to the camp safely.

He tuned back into footsteps pounding up the Big House steps and then Hazel was kneeling in front of him. He looked up at her, he didn’t even say anything and her face fell.

“It’s Nico isn’t it?” She asked

“Yes.” Will’s throat was still tight and it came out as a whisper. Hazel looked at him expectantly and so he continued. “Everything is dull, the color is just seeping away. Nico is hurt and I can’t help him.” Panic started bubbling up in him again and he buried his face in his hands.

“Lou Ellen, why don’t you prep the infirmary, Jason and Percy might be hurt too.” Hazel said, her voice staying level and calm despite the situation.

“Will, I want you to-”

_“Help! Someone, please!!”_

Will jumped to his feet as soon as he heard the voice, it was easily identifiable as Percy Jackson. Will bolted down the Big House steps and ran towards where he heard Percy, vaguely aware that Hazel was behind him.

He rounded the corner of the building and stopped short when his brain fully processed the scene in front of him.

Jason was carrying a small child and had one arm around Nico’s waist in an effort to keep him on his feet. Percy was using both hands to essentially drag Nico along until he swore under his breath and picked him up completely. And Nico. _Gods, Nico what did you do this time_. He was covered in blood, they all were. Nico was limp in Percy’s arms and Will could only imagine what injuries he had sustained.

The group was close now; Will still hadn’t moved. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Hazel standing with her hand over her mouth, eyes welling up with tears at the sight of her brother.

That's what snapped him out of it. “Get her inside.” He said to Jason, who was still holding the trembling demigod child. Jason nodded and continued past him inside the infirmary.

Will moved to be next to Percy, and matched his pace. “What attacked you?”

Percy let out a dry laugh at that. “It would be easier for me to tell you what didn’t attack us. It probably wasn’t the best idea to send only Big Three children on this quest.”

Will looked down and Nico’s pale, bruised face. _You could say that again_. “Nico took most of the damage, he held off the monsters long enough for us to get the kid. He summoned some skeleton soldiers to help us but he couldn’t keep them going for too long.”

“How did you get back?” They were at the Big House steps now, and Percy was starting to strain from carrying Nico.

“Nico shadow travelled us back. He collapsed as soon as we landed here.” Will cursed under his breath, leave it to Nico to push himself when he was already injured.

The second they stepped into the infirmary, Will’s heartbeat accelerated and his blood coursed with adrenaline. He pushed his way through to one of the back rooms, Percy and Hazel at his heels. Percy carefully placed Nico on the cot and backed away as Hazel rushed forward. Will started to take inventory of Nico’s injuries. His face was starting to bruise and there was a cut on his forehead that was still bleeding. There were three long claw marks running down the length of his chest that would definitely need stitches, and Will could tell by his breathing that Nico had at least one broken rib.Will noticed arm wasn’t lying correctly so he gingerly pressed down on his arm and worked his way up to the shoulder. When he got to the socket, what should have been hard bone just felt like soft muscle and he cursed under his breath.

Hazel’s head popped up. “What is it?”

“His shoulder is dislocated, I have to pop it back into place.” Will replied tensely, hands hovering over Nico’s arm. Finally, he placed his hands on Nico’s wrist and elbow and shifted it into a 90 degree angle. “He’ll probably wake up because of this so just...be prepared.” He said, more for the benefit of himself than Hazel and Percy.

Will pulled on Nico’s arm until he felt and _heard_ the bone settle into place.

Nico sucked in a sharp breath and his eyes flew open. He looked around wildly, trying to process where he was. His gaze landed on his damaged body and it was like all the pain hit him at once. Will slid his hand up to hold Nico’s and Nico immediately locked it in a death grip. His eyes were closed tight and his breathing became more labored.

Hazel was at his side at an instant, stroking his hair and murmuring to him in an effort to calm him down. Will felt his heart break at the sight of his soulmate in so much pain, and he couldn’t bring himself to move. “Aren’t you going to do something?” Hazel asked, fire in her eyes.

Will could only stare at her, the lump in his throat was returning and his eyes were welling up.

She stood up and faced him head on.

“Listen, you need to snap out of it. It's painful for all of us to see Nico like this, but he needs help and you’re his best shot. Got it?”

After a moment of no response, Hazel did the only logical thing she could think of. She slapped Will across the face. _Hard_. He finally looked her in the eyes and saw that they too were filled with tears.

“Fix my brother.” She concluded before returning to Nico’s side.

Will began working furiously on the gashes and cuts all over Nico’s body, trying his best to ignore the cries of pain coming from his mouth while Percy and Hazel tried their best to keep him calm.

Every so often he would come out of his work mode for a few seconds and hear Nico whimper and his heart would break all over again. These were the moments when Percy or Hazel would place an encouraging hand on his shoulder to motivate him to continue.

After almost an hour of meticulously stitching up Nico’s chest, Will dropped his medical instruments on the bed and ran his shaking hands through his hair.

Hazel wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you.” She whispered.

When she let go Will looked over her shoulder at Percy. “You did great Will.”

With one final smile from Hazel, the two of them left Will alone with Nico.

Will pulled a chair up to the bed and gingerly ran his fingers across Nico’s face.

His eyes opened slowly and he gave Will a small smile.

“Hey there.” Will whispered, rubbing his thumb across Nico’s cheek. “You gave us all quite the scare.”

Nico hummed under Will’s touch and then furrowed his eyebrows. “How’s the demigod girl?”

“She’s fine, not a scratch on her. You saved her, Nico.” Will said, finding Nico’s hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

He hummed again. “Good. Glad I didn’t go through this trouble for nothing.”

Will laughed and felt a complete sense of relief wash over him. _Nico was okay_. He leaned forward and placed a tender kiss to Nico’s forehead.

Nico smiled again and closed his eyes. “What was that for?”

“Nothing, I just really love you.”

Nico blushed and Will nearly cried with joy when he realized he could see it.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forget to comment if you liked it, I would love to hear feedback! :)


End file.
